Symbol of the Cross in Mormonism

Symbol of the Cross (How Mormons view the Cross)
Welcome! I’m Danny, and I was an active Latter-day Saint for 60 years.
Today, I want to talk about an interesting and somewhat controversial subject in Mormonism. Are you aware that in early history of the LDS Church the Cross upon which Jesus or Yeshua – was crucified was a big part of the Mormon culture?
Did you know that in the early years of the Saints living in Utah, many Mormons promoted the Christian symbol as an expression of their personal and collective faith? It was most likely influenced by their Protestant backgrounds before converting to the new-found religion of Joseph Smith.
Early LDS church leaders had a strong affinity for the cross. In pioneer Utah of the 1800’s – crosses were common in church art, in church stain-glass windows, on their pulpits, and on many gravestones. Brigham Young’s wives and daughters wore crosses on their jewelry. If you google photos of Mormon pioneer women wearing crosses, you’ll see plenty of examples. The cross symbol even appeared as the official LDS Church brand on their cattle in the Salt Lake Valley.
In 1916, the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made a proposal to the Salt Lake City Counsel to place a giant cross on top of Ensign Peak which is a prominent hill in Salt Lake City as, a way to honor the Mormon pioneers. However, at that time there was some opposition from within the ranks of LDS Church leadership, who saw the cross as more of a Catholic symbol and they did not want to give people the wrong impression. As a result, the proposal for a cross on the hill was voted down.
Wanting to maintain a clear distinction from Catholic and Christian churches, the Mormon Church began a movement to reject any outward displays of the cross. The roots of opposition to the cross started to take hold in the 1930’s, when Utah’s Roman Catholic Church became more concentrated and powerful in the LDS community. And, in 1957, Church President David O. McKay ultimately established a “no-cross policy.”
From that day forward, Mormons began to look negatively on, anyone wearing or displaying a cross. It has caused many Latter-day Saints to feel uncomfortable – even offended to see the cross displayed in public. That is why you don’t see crosses on top of LDS church steeples, like in other Christian churches. Instead of a cross on LDS temples, there is typically a golden angel blowing a horn. And it’s rare to see a Latter-day Saint wearing a Christian cross as a piece of jewelry – like on a necklace or bracelet.
There is nothing doctrinal or scriptural that keeps LDS from honoring the cross. But LDS Church leaders have made some pretty, strong statements over the years about the cross. To mention only a couple – Bruce R. McConkie in his book, Mormon Doctrine, equated the cross with the Bible’s satanic “mark of the beast.” McConkie’s father-in-law, Church President Joseph Fielding Smith compared the cross to a guillotine and believed both items were merely “tools of execution.”
In the Middle East – from the 6th century BC until the 4th century AD – the wooden cross was an instrument of execution that resulted in death by the most torturous and painful of ways. During crucifixion a condemned person was nailed to a wooden cross and left to hang until dead. It would be a slow and excruciatingly painful death.
Contrary to what LDS leaders have taught – the cross is far more than just an instrument of death the Romans used to kill the physical body of Jesus. For the Christians the cross plays a significant role in the salvation of all who choose to follow Jesus. It was upon the cross where Yeshua died for the sins of the world.
Christians believe the scars of the Lord’s crucifixion, is how the risen Lord identified Himself to those in ancient Israel as proof after His Resurrection. Even the Book of Mormon states that Jesus showed His wounds to the Nephites when He appeared to them. If Christ so openly displayed the marks of the cross, perhaps we as Believers should be more open to what the cross represents to us and the rest of the world.
Contrary to biblical teaching – Mormonism, puts the emphasis of Christ’s atonement and suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, not on the cross. That is an important distinction that I intend to address in a future video.
As biblical Christians, we understand that it was on the cross where Yeshua atoned for the sins of the world. It was on the cross Yeshua drank the “bitter cup.” It was on the cross where Yeshua completed the work He was sent to do – and proclaimed, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
Remember Paul said in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death.” Yeshua was willing to pay the wages of our sins by His suffering and dying in our place. Yeshua took upon Himself our sin and death and in return gave us His righteousness and Eternal Life! Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” That is often called “The Great Exchange.”
In Christianity, the cross is the intersection of God’s love and His justice. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God points back to the institution of the Jewish Passover in Exodus 12. The Israelites in Egypt were commanded at that time to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and smear the blood of that lamb on the doorposts of their homes. The blood would be the sign for the Angel of Death to “pass over” the homes – saving those inside.
When Yeshua came to John to be baptized before His earthly ministry – John recognized Him and cried, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), thereby identifying Him and God’s plan for Yeshua to be sacrificed for sin. As the sinless Son of God, He would offer Himself up as the unblemished sacrificial Lamb that God requires. Because God’s justice demanded judgment and punishment for sin; God’s love moved Him to send His one and only Son to be the propitiation for sin.
Because of Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, those who place their faith and trust in Him alone for salvation are guaranteed eternal life. Yeshua, Himself said, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
However, when speaking to his disciples in Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” What did Yeshua mean by telling His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him? To take up their cross and follow Yeshua was a call to self-sacrifice and self-denial. In other words, a disciple must be willing to carry or bare their cross and die to themselves to truly follow Yeshua. It means absolute surrender to God. To carry a cross was to face the most painful and humiliating means of death human beings could invent. The Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion. Bearing a cross meant one was about to die, and that one would face ridicule and disgrace along the way. Yeshua said in Matthew 16:25 “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Today – two thousand years later, Christians view the cross as a cherished symbol of atonement, forgiveness, grace, and love.
Yeshua said, only if you willingly take up your cross may you be called His disciple. Luke 14:27 “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
The New Testament speaks of the cross time and time again. Each time the cross is spoken of it is referring to the “Good News” of God’s work for all mankind.
Jesus foretold of the method by which He would die. John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die.”
In Christ’s death, God took the law and ordinances of the temple and nailed them to the cross. Colossians 2:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Demonstrating that temple ordinances and rituals are no longer necessary.
Believers in Yeshua Mashiach or Jesus Christ are identified closely with Him and His cross. Romans 6:6 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” By truly being “crucified with Him,” we become dead to our old sinful nature. Has that happened to you?
Paul described his personal relationship with the cross in Galatians 2:20-21 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” What a blessing to have Christ living in us.
Let’s read how the Bible warns that those who do not accept the message of the cross, are enemies of the cross. Philippians 3:18 “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.”
The Bible teaches we are not to be ashamed of the cross of Christ but are to be closely identified with it instead. It was our sins that put Him on the cross. The cross also demonstrates God’s immense love for us. Rejecting the cross of Christ, is rejecting salvation itself.
People reject the cross because the meaning of it is foolishness to them. I wonder if that is what LDS leaders are guilty of. Paul wrote, 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
Believers wear crosses, because they are not ashamed of what Yeshua did on the cross for them. They are grateful for the power of the cross to save them. They wear crosses to remind themselves as well as others of the ultimate sacrifice God made to save us all.
Personally, I have a tattoo of His Hebrew name “Yeshua” on one forearm. And on my other forearm a tattoo of a “cross” to remind me daily of the sacrifice Yeshua made as payment for my sins. And below that cross, I have the word “forgiven.” I was inspired by what Paul wrote in Galatians 6:17 “From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”
The difference in the way Latter-day Saints and Christians see the cross demonstrates how vastly different Mormonism is from Biblical Christianity.
Galatians 6:14 “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Paul doesn’t say he glories in ordinances, temples, church membership, priesthood or family. He glories ONLY “in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Anything added to what Christ accomplished on the cross ends up being works-based, religion. It causes us to take our eyes off the cross and gives attention to non-essential matters. And what greater ploy by the Adversary could there be -than to get people to take their eyes off the very place where they were reconciled to God – And to have them look up at a golden angel on a building that inspires the proud hearts of men and women!
I pray Latter-day Saints everywhere will demand that those golden images on top of their most sacred buildings would be replaced with crosses – and cease officiating in man-made ordinances.
All that God commands of us is summarized in one verse of the Bible. 1 John 3:23 “And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”
With that commandment in mind – to believe on Yeshua Mashiach and to love one another – I’d like to explain how it applies to the symbolism of the cross: The vertical post planted securely in the ground and pointing upwards toward heaven represents our, belief in Yeshua and our direct relationship with God. The horizontal cross beam placed on that post and reaching outward represents our relationship with others. As Yeshua loved God and loved others, we are called to do the same.
Many look, at the cross as simply the instrument of death used to slay our Lord. Others see it as symbolic of Yeshua’s death and resurrection – a compelling reminder of the sacrifice and victory of Yeshua, and a reminder of God’s great love and gift of grace in offering us salvation. Because it was God’s will – Yeshua willingly went to the cross, taking upon Himself the sins of the world.
So, should a Christian wear religious jewelry such as a cross? Many Christians wear crosses as a humble expression of their love, respect, and service to Christ, along with a remembrance of what He did for us. To be honest, I am encouraged to see that more LDS youth are not afraid to wear a simple cross around their neck. I hope and pray it is for the right reason.
In closing, I ask you this question – How do you view the cross? Is it offensive to you – or is it a sacred symbol of God’s great love and sacrifice for you?
Something to consider!
Thank you for listening. Please share with family and friends. And to see more videos like this, visit my website at talkingtomormons.com or You Tube.
Until next time, God Bless!